March 30, 2018

Adventures in March (2018)

The month that brings us the joy of spring didn't get off to the most cheerful of starts, with a winter storm hitting the UK - aptly named 'The Beast from the East'. Heavy snow fell widely across the country and of course, as is often the way with snowfall here, chaos ensued.

In the valley that we live in, here in South Wales, we were greeted with 20cm of snow and snow drifts much higher than that locally. Our village and surrounding areas pretty much came to halt - with schools closed, no bus services running, and even the supermarkets closing due to no stock - so the first few days of March were pretty much spent in hibernation. We were able to get out and enjoy the snow, including a family snowball fight, on our third official snow day when the harsh winds had calmed down.

When the snow left us, cold temperatures remained and I was really feeling like winter was a never ending season. Then came a day mid March, which I can only describe as the epitome of spring - the sun shone in a brilliant blue sky, I flung the windows wide open with warmth and birdsong filtering in, and an afternoon walk was enjoyed taking in the seasonal shift in the landscape; it was a beauty. Although it turns out spring was just teasing me with that day, it gave me hope and has made the following weeks a little more bearable... I know spring will greet us fully soon. If you're interested, I did share a few photos from that day (including the one below) in the form of a 'Walk With Me' post.

As we awaited the arrival of spring, there were some new arrivals in our household - some tropical fish. We've had cold water fish for a very long time now - with an outdoor pond in our garden - and with Nathan ever keen to expand our animal collection, we got a medium sized indoor tropical fish tank which now houses guppies. I'll be honest, I'm not the biggest pet lover in the world and Nathan does undertake pretty much all the pet care in our house, but I do love sitting and watching fish - both in the outdoor pond & now indoor tank. I love seeing Nathan's interest, research and passion in all our animals; watching Alexander follow in his footsteps and absorb so much knowledge is just wonderful to see. Alexander has such a keen interest in animals, and whilst I encourage and nurture that wholeheartedly, I do think a lot of it is thanks to Nathan.

Whilst still on spring watch, the snow came again...

The contrasting, and often times unpredictable, weather meant that we didn't get to spend as much time outdoors in the month as I would have liked... And definitely nowhere near the amount of outdoor time we were able to experience during the first two months of the year.

Near the end of the month, although still feeling unspring like, Alexander and I headed out on a nature walk to the woodlands near by. Alexander was full of questions and curiosity about his surroundings, including saying 'Who's home is that... Could it be (insert animal here)?'. After looping around the duck pond, we entered a more heavily wooded area and Alexander was keen to look for dinosaurs. Using his imagination, we encountered a few before he mentioned one coming towards us and him saying 'RUN FOR YOUR LIFE!' - with us then continuing the motions of the dinosaur chase all the way home. We had such a fun outing - I'd love to just capture & bottle the essence of the day, as well as Alexander's personality at this current moment in time.

To end the month of March, the Easter school holidays are now here - the time between February half term and these school holidays has literally flown by. I'm not too sure what April is going to bring us (although we do have something super fun planned at the end of the month), but I know I am looking forward to the next couple of weeks together.

Everyone is wishing April arrives with sunshine and looks like the weather has really affected everyones adventures. I'm so glad you managed to get out and enjoy some of the month. Thank you for joining in with #MyFamilyAdventures x